Attraction
The residential core combines a thatched main house of about sixty square metres, a tiled ancillary house of about sixty-seven square metres, and a small connecting structure. Iwakura bought the carpenter Tokichi's dwelling, now identified with the ancillary house, and added the main and connecting buildings. The main house presents a restrained sequence of entrance, six-mat rooms, alcove, and veranda facing the garden rather than courtly monumentality. Gate, walls, pond garden, and detached privy complete the compound. A major repair undertaken by Kyoto City from 2008 through 2011 preserved the site, so present appearance reflects both nineteenth-century fabric and documented modern conservation rather than untouched survival.
